juju
Double Eagle Member
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Signature holes of Minnesota.
- Thread starter RyanisCorriganis
- Start date
RyanisCorriganis
Par Member
There exists a very beautiful stamp of Hole 10 at Riverside. It has been at least a year since I have seen said stamp, but the way the trees were trimmed and the filter applied to the image will always stay in my mind. That is a very intangible quality that makes a signature hole, or maybe I just love it too much.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Probably the biggest technical flaw in signature holes is producing tweeners partly because the terrain produces holes a little too long for most players. Examples would be Hidden #15 with a water carry a bit too long when the water is up and a poor bailout area. Bryant #17 and Hyland #18 are too long with lots of "easy" 3s plus parking lot issue on 17. Valley 11 is okay from a risk reward standpoint for those who can cross the pond but the bailout area on the hillside for most players is unmowed and some small trees make the hillside landing dicey to have a decent second shot. Kaposia 5 is a too short or long tweener and creates backups. Riverside 10 is also a bit long producing lots of 3s unless you yank into the parking lot.
Phantom Discs
Eagle Member
Riverside in St. Cloud hole #10 back left basket placement.
:hfive:
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
Plymouth Creek 8 is such a monster that a lot of newer players just skip it. In fact, it is such a monster that they recently put in a short basket so those who did not want to play the whole hole still had something to play.
Millstream 15, at least in one of its placements is the epitome of what a stream hole should play like.
I disagree with Elm Creek 18 because while it is memorable, it is memorable for the wrong reasons. It is almost straight uphill huck and chuck. At least HSSA has some character to it despite playing the same way. I do agree with 14, but I would like to throw in Hole 12 for consideration because of its bottleneck and the likelihood of losing a disc, but when you hit the bottleneck and park the hole, it is an awesome feeling that you have conquered the hole.
The problem with the west side of the Twin Cities is that we have numerous smaller courses, where they may have one or two marquee holes, but the rest of them are bland. Do not get me wrong, it is better to have a small course than no course at all, to be honest, most of the best and biggest courses are on the east side of the Cities and there are several of us who do not want to deal with the traffic to get to them.
So, here are some nice holes from the smaller courses:
Central Park - Hole 8 - 400 feet but after a massive drop, plays like 220. Fun to unload the bag on.
Bassett Creek - Hole 12 - For the same reason as Central Park, just shorter.
Sunnyside - Hole 2 - Only bomber hole on the course, but it is a narrow strip. Fade out and you are in the road, turn it over and you are landing in someone's backyard.
Hanson - Hole 5 - Downhill long hole with some openness but still requires some lineshaping to keep it out of people's yards.
Silverview - Hole 6 - Long, skinny, slow right dogleg. The only real challenge on this course.
Zachary Playfields - Hole 2 - Tight and long tunnel shot. The first five holes of this course are actuallly all nice. Shame the remaining four holes are the better than nothing variety surrounding a softball field and hockey rink.
Reibe Park (Princeton) - Hole 4 - Dangerous ace run that requires a slight flexing anhyzer or turnover. You go long and you are lost in the Rum River. Hole 5 is another one to consider; 340 foot fair fairway where the Rum River runs the entire length of the left side.
Springvale (Cambridge) - Hole 1 - The ravine sitting at 100 feet out is what makes this hole. There are enough trees where there is a threat you could be kicked down there. The hole itself is only 300+ feet, but it is slightly uphill and once across this small ravine, the fairway narrows until the basket is out in the open for 20 or so feet. I initially hated Hole 5, but I have been liking it more and more every time I play it.
Acorn - Hole 1 - Most of Acorn is iconic. I could have easily said 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, or 18. The course itself is getting very run down because of traffic, and that takes a lot away from the beauty of the individual holes. Yet the risk versus reward with the sewage pond in the middle of the fairway with enough trees to knock you into it and the satisfaction of crossing it is one of the best opening holes I have ever seen.
Carlton - Hole 2 - This is a small 9 hole course just outside of an elementary school, but Hole 2 is reminiscient of courses like Kaposia, Highbridge Bear, and other courses that make you play golf in the woods. The hole itself requires a hard dogleg left followed by a decent long precision shot in the woods. It is nothing spectacular, but it is the statement it makes that this is not just an ordinary school course but something that will challenge you. Holes 5-7 unfortunately are a major let down since they are out in the open.
Miliaca - Hole 9/18 - I hate this course because clearly someone thought it would be challenging when in reality it is just bad design; too many blind and luck shots. I do not particular like this hole(s) - dual placement to make 18 - but definitely it/they stick(s) out in my mind. 300 foot shot from the long tee but the tunnel is only about 10 feet wide and maybe 8-10 feet tall. Sumac, I believe, line both sides of the fairway, but the fairway is the crest of a dividing hill, so you have major drop off on both sides. The rough, at least as of a year go, was incredibly thick, so if you can not throw 300 feet level and low, you have just added two to four throws to your score.
Hassan - Hole 8 - Holes 3 and 5-9 are basically open field bombers. The designers did their best to incorporate the slow rolling elevation, a small patch of woods, a wetland, and some powerlines. The course is incredibly boring but a great place to work on your distance. Hole 8 stands out because it tries to work precision into your long drives; you have a service road on your left that you can treat as an OB line and the wetlands on your right actually is OB. The wetlands is a jagged line that sneaks in and out of your prefered line to the basket, so based upon your power and the wind, you really have to pick and choose where you should tempt flying over the wetlands if you are a rhbh player. If you play last point in bounds, you could essentially lose almost 200 feet of your drive if you never make it back in. There have been several times where I landed within 3-5 feet of being inbounds, no more than 45 feet from the basket, and yet had to go back 200 feet to find my last point in bounds.
Millstream 15, at least in one of its placements is the epitome of what a stream hole should play like.
I disagree with Elm Creek 18 because while it is memorable, it is memorable for the wrong reasons. It is almost straight uphill huck and chuck. At least HSSA has some character to it despite playing the same way. I do agree with 14, but I would like to throw in Hole 12 for consideration because of its bottleneck and the likelihood of losing a disc, but when you hit the bottleneck and park the hole, it is an awesome feeling that you have conquered the hole.
The problem with the west side of the Twin Cities is that we have numerous smaller courses, where they may have one or two marquee holes, but the rest of them are bland. Do not get me wrong, it is better to have a small course than no course at all, to be honest, most of the best and biggest courses are on the east side of the Cities and there are several of us who do not want to deal with the traffic to get to them.
So, here are some nice holes from the smaller courses:
Central Park - Hole 8 - 400 feet but after a massive drop, plays like 220. Fun to unload the bag on.
Bassett Creek - Hole 12 - For the same reason as Central Park, just shorter.
Sunnyside - Hole 2 - Only bomber hole on the course, but it is a narrow strip. Fade out and you are in the road, turn it over and you are landing in someone's backyard.
Hanson - Hole 5 - Downhill long hole with some openness but still requires some lineshaping to keep it out of people's yards.
Silverview - Hole 6 - Long, skinny, slow right dogleg. The only real challenge on this course.
Zachary Playfields - Hole 2 - Tight and long tunnel shot. The first five holes of this course are actuallly all nice. Shame the remaining four holes are the better than nothing variety surrounding a softball field and hockey rink.
Reibe Park (Princeton) - Hole 4 - Dangerous ace run that requires a slight flexing anhyzer or turnover. You go long and you are lost in the Rum River. Hole 5 is another one to consider; 340 foot fair fairway where the Rum River runs the entire length of the left side.
Springvale (Cambridge) - Hole 1 - The ravine sitting at 100 feet out is what makes this hole. There are enough trees where there is a threat you could be kicked down there. The hole itself is only 300+ feet, but it is slightly uphill and once across this small ravine, the fairway narrows until the basket is out in the open for 20 or so feet. I initially hated Hole 5, but I have been liking it more and more every time I play it.
Acorn - Hole 1 - Most of Acorn is iconic. I could have easily said 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, or 18. The course itself is getting very run down because of traffic, and that takes a lot away from the beauty of the individual holes. Yet the risk versus reward with the sewage pond in the middle of the fairway with enough trees to knock you into it and the satisfaction of crossing it is one of the best opening holes I have ever seen.
Carlton - Hole 2 - This is a small 9 hole course just outside of an elementary school, but Hole 2 is reminiscient of courses like Kaposia, Highbridge Bear, and other courses that make you play golf in the woods. The hole itself requires a hard dogleg left followed by a decent long precision shot in the woods. It is nothing spectacular, but it is the statement it makes that this is not just an ordinary school course but something that will challenge you. Holes 5-7 unfortunately are a major let down since they are out in the open.
Miliaca - Hole 9/18 - I hate this course because clearly someone thought it would be challenging when in reality it is just bad design; too many blind and luck shots. I do not particular like this hole(s) - dual placement to make 18 - but definitely it/they stick(s) out in my mind. 300 foot shot from the long tee but the tunnel is only about 10 feet wide and maybe 8-10 feet tall. Sumac, I believe, line both sides of the fairway, but the fairway is the crest of a dividing hill, so you have major drop off on both sides. The rough, at least as of a year go, was incredibly thick, so if you can not throw 300 feet level and low, you have just added two to four throws to your score.
Hassan - Hole 8 - Holes 3 and 5-9 are basically open field bombers. The designers did their best to incorporate the slow rolling elevation, a small patch of woods, a wetland, and some powerlines. The course is incredibly boring but a great place to work on your distance. Hole 8 stands out because it tries to work precision into your long drives; you have a service road on your left that you can treat as an OB line and the wetlands on your right actually is OB. The wetlands is a jagged line that sneaks in and out of your prefered line to the basket, so based upon your power and the wind, you really have to pick and choose where you should tempt flying over the wetlands if you are a rhbh player. If you play last point in bounds, you could essentially lose almost 200 feet of your drive if you never make it back in. There have been several times where I landed within 3-5 feet of being inbounds, no more than 45 feet from the basket, and yet had to go back 200 feet to find my last point in bounds.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
When we designed Kenwood Trails, I knew hole 15 would be considered a signature hole. We put it in there even though it's a bit too short at 425 for a full blown par 4. It's same length as Kaposia 5 but plays faster with less pinballing on poor shots.
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
Forgot to mention Giants Ridge 18 and West Pulaski 5.
West Pulaski 5 is going to be my next year's calendar winner. In (June) 2012 I had BRP #4. In (May) 2014 I had Justin Trails Classic #16, but that is obviously in Wisconsin.
I also want to add in Stewartville. There are a couple of nice holes in the woods, but currently I cannot think of their numbers. St. Charles is the same way; it has some really nice holes somewhere between 4-16 I believe. Todd Park, post tornado has some beautiful holes to consider but I do not want to sit down and rack my memory from the one time I played it. I wonder what it looked like before the tornado from a few years ago.
West Pulaski 5 is going to be my next year's calendar winner. In (June) 2012 I had BRP #4. In (May) 2014 I had Justin Trails Classic #16, but that is obviously in Wisconsin.
I also want to add in Stewartville. There are a couple of nice holes in the woods, but currently I cannot think of their numbers. St. Charles is the same way; it has some really nice holes somewhere between 4-16 I believe. Todd Park, post tornado has some beautiful holes to consider but I do not want to sit down and rack my memory from the one time I played it. I wonder what it looked like before the tornado from a few years ago.
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
I have not played it in months, so I am really looking forward to seeing its Am Worlds configuration.
RyanisCorriganis
Par Member
So many good holes smarkquart, can't beleive #15 at Milly didn't come to mind for me. I think there are some obscure holes were missing in smaller parts of the state, hopefully the fellas in ND or WI have some insight. Most holes mentioned are also on more actively played courses. The question I ask myself is do we ascribe certain values to these holes without much thought, or have the holes demonstrated themselves as being superior to their competetion.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Maiden Shade 3, Oak Island 13, Bear Cave 5, CP 7, Oakwood 18?, Lions 8? I think Bassett 11 better than 12.
Goon13
Par Member
So many good signature holes in MN. Don't want to re-mention the obvious holes already identified earlier, instead I'll highlight some holes that people may not have played yet.
If you like tunnel shots:
Brekke #3 - short down hill in tall pines. One of the first courses I played, first exposure to a narrow fairway.
Oakleaf #6 - another tunnel shot in tall pines, but with garage directly behind homemade basket - takes some of the risk out of going for the chains.
Riverland Community #3 - longest of the three, again tunnel in pines.
Springvale #9 - a narrow tunnel of trees that gradually bends to left.
If you like elevated tees:
Lion's Park #13 in Shakopee - elevated tee box next to water park - always windy. Two pine trees block your line on each side of basket.
Northview #6 in Eagan - rather short with good elevation change. Power down.
Upper Plum Creek #1 - down hill with basket in clearing of trees. Several bushes and trees midway down fairway mess with your line selection.
Riverside #2 in Kenyon - down hill with river/creek behind basket.
Becker City #15 - downhill basket in front of thick brush. Trees in fairway make it difficult.
If you like tunnel shots:
Brekke #3 - short down hill in tall pines. One of the first courses I played, first exposure to a narrow fairway.
Oakleaf #6 - another tunnel shot in tall pines, but with garage directly behind homemade basket - takes some of the risk out of going for the chains.
Riverland Community #3 - longest of the three, again tunnel in pines.
Springvale #9 - a narrow tunnel of trees that gradually bends to left.
If you like elevated tees:
Lion's Park #13 in Shakopee - elevated tee box next to water park - always windy. Two pine trees block your line on each side of basket.
Northview #6 in Eagan - rather short with good elevation change. Power down.
Upper Plum Creek #1 - down hill with basket in clearing of trees. Several bushes and trees midway down fairway mess with your line selection.
Riverside #2 in Kenyon - down hill with river/creek behind basket.
Becker City #15 - downhill basket in front of thick brush. Trees in fairway make it difficult.
agentdozzer
Eagle Member
Pictures would make this thread more appealing.
dbanderson
Par Member
Most people around Austin consider Todd Park #10 the signature hole. Although it provides great scoring spread, it is too much of a pinball hole. Todd #7 long tee when the grass is mowed is the signature hole, imo.
St. Charles #2
Stewartville #5
Albert Lea, Oak Island #15
Hokah #11 (I think it was #11 over the land dam)
St. Charles #2
Stewartville #5
Albert Lea, Oak Island #15
Hokah #11 (I think it was #11 over the land dam)
WreepJangler
Bogey Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2013
- Messages
- 69
RyanisCorriganis
Par Member
Compiling the list is step one. Pictures are step two, but if you insist.
#10 Riverside
#10 Riverside
RyanisCorriganis
Par Member
#15 Millstream
HeavyCritters
**Stickin'Putts**
I've always had a soft spot for Hole 7 at Blue Ribbon Pines.
dbanderson
Par Member
Todd Park #10 long tee 500' straight ahead
Todd Park #7 long tee 520' and approach
Todd Park #7 long tee 520' and approach
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